US is looking for ways to support Egypt: ambassador

Outgoing ambassador to Egypt, Scobey, details in her speech to the American Chamber of Commerce that the US Congress and Administration are looking into boosting the aid package to Egypt

In a farewell speech before The American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo, outgoing US Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey said that the US has always called for political reforms in Egypt "at the most senior level" and is now looking into ways to provide Egypt with political and economic support.
"US support for the new democratic Egypt" was the theme for the Scobey speech.
Although the US ambassador revealed no new details on the possible avenues of US support to Egypt beyond the $1 billion in investments and $1 billion in loan guarantees, she stressed that future discussion between business leaders in Egypt and the US should allow for future cooperation opportunities to surface.
With regard to Egypt's long-standing hopes for a free-trade agreement with the US, Scobey rang non-committal.
However, Scobey mentioned that while the US administration would not wait for the institution of a new elected parliament and a new government in Egypt to disburse the amounts already promised by US President Barack Obama.
Furthermore, the details are already being worked out between the administration and the US Congress for the annual US economic/military aid package to Egypt.
On the political front, Scobey said that the US is willing to lend all possible support to Egypt during the transitional phase in line with the demands of Egyptian civil society and political parties, while keeping the Egyptian government in the know.
The US, the ambassador said, is committed to working with Egyptians "through a legitimate transition towards democracy," both on the political and economic fronts.
Scobey is planning to leave Egypt in the coming few weeks. Her planned successor is Anne Patterson, a career diplomat, who is currently being briefed in Washington on the Egyptian economy. She will arrive later in the summer once the agreement has passed through Congress.
In the closing of her statement before the American Chamber Scobey said that Patterson will be an asset for the progress of Egyptian-American relations and will work according to the two countries' shared interests.
This future cooperation, Scobey laid out, will be conducted in view of the commitment of the Egyptian government to the demands and rights of its entire people "Christians and Muslims, women and men, as they have stood together in Tahrir."
During the Question and Answer session Scobey rejected claims that Washington objects to the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Cairo and Tehran. "We never objected to diplomatic relations," she clarified.
She continued to say that, nonetheless, Washington and Cairo have always shared concerns over the policies of Tehran at the regional level. The US does not perceive some of Tehran's policies as conducive to peace and stability at the home level, which as the US sees it, hinders the march towards democracy.
The US, Scobey insisted, is convinced that Egypt is committed to the fight against terror and to the promotion of freedom and respect for human rights.
Scobey also said that the US is convinced that Egypt is committed to observe security regulations at the borders with Gaza, despite the controversial opening of the Rafah border crossing, "not for Israel's safety but for the safety of the region."